[Enverxis]

Yehaw.

I got to the post office this morning just in time before it closed to pick up my Alessandro MS-2s ... took them home and plugged them straight into my JVC A-K100 Amplifier to test them out ... cant use the Creek OBH-11SE until Christmas T_T.
The Bowl pads fit perfectly around my ears, they could have been made from a more comfortable material like alot of the upper range sennheiser phones, and even my speedlink medusas, but im not sure if that changes the sound, no clamping effects as of yet but I can see that the headband might get a little uncomfy in long hours of use ... might need to do some comfy mods to it. They are actually pretty light aswell, and smaller in size than i expected. Cord is also just at the right length, doesnt get in the way of anything and i can still reach for the lightswitch (just).
First songs I tried were White Zombie - Thunderkiss '65, Black Sunshine and Thrust from the White Zombie - La Sexorcisto album @ 320kb LAME ; Impressed by the seperation of the instruments and the absolute clarity of everything about the song that has never been so clear before, however the in your face presentation just hasnt been present yet. Another good thing is these phones have nice volume, only have to turn them up 1/3 of the way for them to be loud for me. The soundstage is enclosed inside the headphones, but i have never experienced headphones with anything wider than this so it doesnt bother me, things that can be improved and probably will as they get more hours of use under them are probably the amount of SNAP! in the drums and Bass Slam, Sean Yseult on the bass guitar is alot more evident in these headphones than past listenings, have never been able to pick her chords very well ... now i can hear them

. Highs are very nice aswell, symbols are tight instead of slightly splashy ... the recording of these songs isnt great but the MS-2 makes them more enjoyable.
Then I tried Super-Charger Heaven and More Human than Human from the White Zombie - Astro-Creep 2000 album @ FLAC. Super-Charger heaven was still a bit droning, and for once i could distinguish different sounds from each other instead of hearing this thundering assault on the ears. More Human than Human sounds very nice compared to previous listenings, alot of energy, very centred vocals just at the right level, and Rob sounds as Rob as he's ever going to be

. Nice seperation and energy.
Disturbed's "The Sickness" album was next. This album would be fun to listen to on an SR-225 or something because it would blow your head off from the very first track. I didnt get such a feeling with the MS-2 on the first listen, however the drum-kick is quite deep, and tight .. a bit more volume is needed from it to be really enjoyed.
I loved "The Game" though, it just sounded awesome, still needing a bit more volume coming from the lower and higher end, impressed by the mid-range however, clear, distinguishable, dynamic and up front just how I like it. They're right when they say that you are put up on stage with the band with the Grado/Alessandro range, because you are. David Draiman sounds like he's coming from behind you in this track though, which is interesting

because it would scare the **** out of the person he is talking about in the track lol.
Stupify sounds like it could be better, perhaps the mids are a little distorted, need more bass for that song aswell, especially at the bit right at the end of the track. Should improved over useage though.
However Down with the Sickness came in with some nice and tight drums, a tad bit of echo though, which could be the song or the phones. Mids still a bit distorted.
Nightwish - Wishmaster sounds spectacular, Tarja's voice sounds excellent, best ive ever heard it

, once again, need more snap and slam, and some more volume in the highs, however I dont think ive enjoyed "She is My Sin", "The Kinslayer" and "Wishmaster" that much before.
more songs coming

The signature sound of my creative audigy is still present in the headphones, cant really describe it but you can definantly notice things sound very similar with everything you try on it. Upgrading my source to a chaintech av-710 as i have read will make the sound more neutral, and then adding the creek amp will make it brighter ... should be interesting.
A question though, How would using the analog RCA of a Terratec EWX 24/96 card compare to the analog of a chaintech AV-710 ?

Only got another 2-3 hours of listening before I have to go to work, stupid work ... then straight back to it when I get home

 

[Hunter_Killer]

Good review. They are my next phones!

 

[pianomaster]

have you ordered yourself a pair of flats from todd? i think they should be a required purchase for anyone buying the MS-2s...the bowls sound great with classical music and anything acoustic, but the slam and snap really leap out with the flat pads...burn in will also help, so those 2 things might give a different sort of sound...keep us posted!

 

[Enverxis]

Posted about getting some second hand, because ordering them from overseas will cost me a bit.

big thanks to Snufkin from Headphonic aswell, shipped the product the morning after I payed the money and I got them within four days

 

[gsferrari]

You got the MS2's with comfy pads??

Dont they ship with Bowl Pads?

Please confirm.


Also - how old is this unit?


Thanks

 

[Jahn]

the only alessandro to ship with comfies is the MS-1. are you sure you meant MS-2? the MS-2 is metal, and comes with bowl pads. easy to tell - the comfies have no hole in the middle, the MS-2 bowl pads do.

i highly recommend flat pads for either can tho, that will help bring out the bass. and give it 40 hours of burn in to start sounding like itself! grats on being on Team Alessandro!

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn the only alessandro to ship with comfies is the MS-1. are you sure you meant MS-2? the MS-2 is metal, and comes with bowl pads. easy to tell - the comfies have no hole in the middle, the MS-2 bowl pads do. i highly recommend flat pads for either can tho, that will help bring out the bass. and give it 40 hours of burn in to start sounding like itself! grats on being on Team Alessandro!

Yes, had the feeling he/she might have been talking about the MS1s aswell. Comfy pads, lightweight. MS-2s are neither.

"still needing a bit more volume coming from the lower and higher end"
Also wonder about that sentence. MS-2s have A LOT of bass.

 

[Talonz]

I think the MS-1 is being referred to:

"This album would be fun to listen to on an SR-225 or something because it would blow your head off from the very first track. I didnt get such a feeling with the MS-2 on the first listen, however the drum-kick is quite deep, and tight .. a bit more volume is needed from it to be really enjoyed."

Seems to be implying that the SR-225 is a higher end phone.

Please confirm Enverxis

Good review either way though

 

[Bosch]

Well, what a coinidence. I picked up a pair of Grado SR-325 headphones today from Audiophile in North Fitzroy. It is basically the same headphone but at $599 AUD each I obviously paid more for the privilage, ha ha. My set has actually been rebadged as an Amber product, although it's still made by Grado in the US, so I saved $100. In fact the lead has Grado logos on it. If I can obtain two Grado buttons I'll rip the Ambers off and chuck those on!

I decided to get a pair of Grados mainly so that I could use them as a reference point, and also to compliment my Sennheiser HD600. I would love to get an RS-1 but I might save the cash for a different brand (variety is the spice of life etc) or get the Alessandro MS-Pro. One Grado is probably enough! I will get flats too - the bowls dig into the top of my ear despite mucking around with different can orientations. The phones are being burnt in - or should I say tortured - over the next few days with commercial radio music (for you locals, Nova FM).

Hey Enverxis: I like your taste in headphone sample tracks.

 

[hugz]

Surely someone would be more likely to mistake their pads than their headphones

... right?

 

[Enverxis]

Exactly

Sorry about that, they ARE bowl pads. I did not know that you got bowl pads with the MS-2 i thought that "comfies" were stock pads and that bowls and flats were custom.

My mistake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa Yes, had the feeling he/she might have been talking about the MS1s aswell. Comfy pads, lightweight. MS-2s are neither. "still needing a bit more volume coming from the lower and higher end" Also wonder about that sentence. MS-2s have A LOT of bass.

Not straight out of the box they dont, however i left them playing while I was at work, and that was 6 hours so now they have 8 hours on them and the bass has improved, substantially.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari Also - how old is this unit? Thanks

By unit do you mean the cans? They are Brand Smoking New.
Just in case, the Soundcard is 4 months old and the Amp is probably 12 years old

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talonz I think the MS-1 is being referred to: "This album would be fun to listen to on an SR-225 or something because it would blow your head off from the very first track. I didnt get such a feeling with the MS-2 on the first listen, however the drum-kick is quite deep, and tight .. a bit more volume is needed from it to be really enjoyed." Seems to be implying that the SR-225 is a higher end phone. Please confirm Enverxis Good review either way though

No I meant the MS-2, I know that the SR-225 is not a higher end phone, But Ive read many times on this forum that they are THE cans for "Ear Exploding Rock!"

 

[Enverxis]

Here's an update

After 10 hours burn in...
Bass has definantly improved, there is more slam, and more punch, and the strings of the bass guitars are more evident and tighter. Still missing volume in the lows and highs though, they are clear and tight but they are just not loud enough yet, will have to do with alot of things, such as a bad source and amp and only 10 hours on the phones.
I now know what people mean when they say the "clamping effect" and owch, its painful compared to any other phones ive used, im even feeling it in the edges of my jaw, bowl pads havent become much comfier either, lol.
Ive heard of someone modding the headband with Senn HD580 replacement headband padding, might duck in to the local Sennheiser dealer to see if I can get those HD414 pads and some headband padding.

Other tracks that I have given a good thorough listen
Run to the Hills, The Number of the Beast, The Trooper and Futureal from Iron Maiden - Edward the Great (The Greatest Hits). The opening drumming in Run to the Hills could be improved greatly, there still isnt enough slam, but it has improved since i first tried the song, vocals through the songs are great, and the guitars are well positioned, seperated and dynamic. I love the solo Janick does in "Futureal", it's an absolute blast to hear.
The Iron Maiden - Rock in Rio DVD is alot more fun to listen to than on my Philips HP195's (as you can imagine quite easily ). The Philips phones being closed are quite dark and muddy, however I do believe they have more snap to the drums than the MS-2 does during this DVD, but everything else is better by a long shot on the MS-2, The only "bad" things about the sound are mainly because of the DVD (recorded in DTS or Dolby 5.1 [no stereo

])and because there is three guitarists, Adrian's guitar comes from the same position as Steve's Bass, so you can't hear Steve's chords unless Adrian plays late (which half of the time he does) or Steve plays a Really low note, which doesnt happen often because Steve plays in the higher notes most of the time (one of the few bass players i know that does) whether its the chords (ive got no ****ing idea when someone plays an A, B , C or whatever) or the particular bass guitar he uses I dont know. The part where Janick and Adrian dual up on a solo in "The Trooper" sounds ****ing awesome.
Doing the lighter music testing now

 

[kunwar]

Before you decide to spend $30 + shipping to get flat pads. try the senn pad modification to see if you actually liek the sound
I prefer the bowls rather than the senn pad sound. It gets too boomy and muddled in the midrange.

 

[Enverxis]

Yeah, well Im not after a muddled midrange ... however i will try them

 

[Talonz]

I found that if you opened your mouth wide every once in a while, the clamping effect has less of an effect on your jaws. They will expand eventually though (the headband, not your jaws)